New Beginnings
by SnowbellaAndFriends
Summary: They say that destiny can grab you up at any time, and that fate doesn't always play a good hand to good people. This is mostly true, but for one orphaned baby and one forgotten team, destiny is only the beginning. PS: This was inspired by Aunna. x3
1. A Cry in the Night

**A/N:** Good evening my fellow SRMTHFG! fans! x3 Now, I don't know if you remember me, but I once went under the screen name **Snowbellathecheetah** and wrote a few SRMTHFG! stories back when I started off in FanFiction, but deleted them after a while. The reason being is that I plan to merge them into one big story, with one large plot-line that holds all their plots in one. I had a Spova Trilogy that I dearly loved, if only for the plot-line in it, a story about the Hyperforce battling it out with an evil Hyperforce look-a-like team (there was even a good Mandarin look-a-like the real Hyperforce teamed up with! xD) and a mini-story involving another robotic monkey that joined the Hyperforce. All three of these plots will be put into one huge mega story soon - HOWEVER, sadly to say, this is not that story.

After finding some episodes of the show on the internet and watching them again, I took a trip down memory lane; returning to the SRMTHFG! category to read and re-read some of my favorite stories and one-shots, but then I stumbled across a new story by an author called **Aunna**, and got into the rest of her stories as well. I must say, there are some interesting focuses in those stories, and she has some neat challenges with original story plots up for grabs as well - I might even take up one or two later on, and place them into one story (I like to take multiple challenges and make one story out of them. x3). But for now, however, I became inspired by one of her stories in which Chiro is raised from infancy by the Hyperforce. So this story is inspired, but I promise will in no way be a copy of, by her story. :3 I hope she likes it.

**Disclaimer and Warning:** This story is purely fan-made; I will not and never will own SRMTHFG! or any of it's characters. However, any OC that may come into here... yeah, I don't own either. There not stolen from anybody... they just won't be given a name or last very long for me to consider owning them. xDDD Also, this story is rated T - M for a reason. I am very big on details, and some things may be graphic in this story - gore, death, blood, etc. If this offends you, please turn away now. I can take flames and constructive criticism, so please feel free to do so - flames fuel my fire to irritate you all the more, and constructive criticism helps build my writing skills. Thank you.

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><p><strong>Prologue ~ A Cry in the Night<br>**

"Every child begins the world again..." - Henry David Thoreau

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><p><strong>{It}<strong> was raining the night that she ran.

Running as fast as she could through the downpour, the woman raced away from an unseen pursuer, her breath coming out in labored gasps and pants as she stumbled and slipped against the muddy and water-logged earth, eyes wide with fright and desperation as she struggled to see through the sheets of water that obscured her vision. Adrenaline gave her the extra push she needed to keep going on, fear gave her the edge she needed to stay one step ahead of her enemy, and her courage gave her will to do what was right in spite of everything that was happening.

Adrenaline finally gave way to exhaustion, and the woman knew she had to rest lest she be unable to keep up this game of cat-and-mouse she was so hazardously playing. Her legs finally gave way, and she collapsed near a large tree, one of the many that existed in the outskirts of the city she had just managed to escape. Pressing her back against the bark of the tall plant, she let herself rest for the moment, the sting of her many injuries now reaching her brain all at once. Bruises, cuts, and scrapes - some a result of her frantic run and others not - lay littered all over her body, her clothing torn and in tatters from the multiple attacks she had to endure, and her onyx colored hair laying plastered to her head from the rain. It was all an uneasy sight for anyone to take in, especially if that someone suffering from such afflictions was as beautiful as the woman herself normally was...

...but, she knew as she turned her powder blue gaze towards the precious cargo she held so tightly against her chest, it was all worth it.

Small whimpers escaped the tightly wrapped bundle of blue and navy blankets she held in her arms, the only protection the small life-form had against the weather, a shock of black peeping through the wool to stare up at her face with curious azure eyes. In spite of her pain and battered appearance, the woman managed a smile towards that tiny face, trying to ease his curiosity and her own worries, bring back the innocent stare that babies of this age should have instead of this uncertainty that gazed back at her. He was such a beautiful baby boy, with onyx black hair and eyes much more intense in color than hers ever could be, even if he was two weeks premature... and had _that_ man for a father.

It had been love at first sight the moment she laid eyes on her newborn son two weeks prior to the day at his birth, never minding his small size and heritage. Despite such a background, he was the most innocent thing she'd ever seen, and she just couldn't find it in herself to allow him to become like his father. Needless to say, said man was not happy about her choice, and had attacked her the moment she gave the indication of running, hence her current state of appearance. Nevertheless, in spite of knowing what the consequences were, when his servants had come to pick up the little boy, she had fought for her son and somehow managed to escape... somehow.

Her reassuring smile seemed to work for the moment, for her son's gaze left hers and rested back into his blanket. He was such a strange child as well as beautiful - crying seemed to be beneath him when it came to some matters, unlike most babies she'd known and heard of, and he whimpered or gave a short cry now and then to tell when he was hungry rather than scream bloody murder. She supposed it was from his premature birth... the doctors had said he could have some trouble breathing for the first month or so... or perhaps it was just him... maybe he was just a quiet child...

An unholy roar sounded above the rain, breaking the moment between mother and son and setting her mind back into its previous trains of thought. Whatever the reason for her son's quiet nature, it was working in her favor. The beasts that chased after her were most likely listening out for a baby's tell-tale cry, and with her son being so quiet, it gave her the extra time she needed to escape... even a second was valuable against these creatures, as she'd learned not too long ago very quickly.

"Time to go again." she whispered to herself as she pushed herself back to her feet, the skin of her soles crying out in protest as they once again came in contact with the rough ground - she'd not had time to place on any shoes when she'd ran. Settling her son back into a comfortable position, the woman steadied herself on her legs before taking off again, glancing back around her shoulder to see if the beasts had found her or not. Luckily for her and her son, they didn't seem to - yet.

_'Don't worry my child, I won't let them take you, not now or ever.'_ the silent vow was whispered through her mind as she wove through the thickening tree-lines in an attempt to further confuse her pursuers. If they could somehow smell her through the rain, then following her scent would be harder for them if they had obstacles to get through as well. '_You will chose your own destiny, your own path, and your own morals. I will not let **him** take that away from you!'_ her thoughts were suddenly broken as another roar was heard over the rain, her powder blue orbs squeezing shut as she ran all the harder. She had to get away... for her son, she had to...

...if only long enough to save him.

{{{SRMTHFG!}}}

She wasn't sure how long she'd ran through the rain and the wind, nor did she remember what time it was when she had began her mad dash, however she had not forgotten her pursuers in any case, nor the fact that now they were slowly closing in on her despite her best attempts to evade them. The roars were getting louder, and the rain was getting slower. Soon, they wouldn't need smell at all if they were as close as she thought they were, eventually at their rate of enclosing, all they'd have to do was look straight ahead, and there she'd be, and all her efforts on behalf of her infant son would be in vain.

She was running out of time, too quickly than she'd like...

Exhaustion was creeping up on her again, adrenaline now the only thing keeping her standing up right, and just barely at that. Soon, running would be impossible; her own body was slowly betraying her. But she still mustered up the strength to keep walking forward, clutching her infant son close as she possibly could, wishing to spend these last few moments with him. Knowing **him**, he wouldn't let her live after this betrayal, and if he somehow did find the mercy to spare her, his servants wouldn't allow her life either. She'd long ago accepted her own demise with this decision she'd made, either way she'd end up dead soon enough... but she had seen the chance to give her baby a better life, and she'd taken it, consequences be damned.

Her son would survive... even if she didn't. She'd at least make sure of that.

Glancing down her child still so tightly wrapped in the two blankets, the woman smiled once more, her form filling again with new determination. It was now becoming too taxing to run whilst carrying the boy, but she still stumbled forward either way, still determined to save him from this horrible life that was breathing down his neck. The rain was letting up more as she stumbled in the mud, instinctively clutching her baby to her chest to protect him from the fall should her front hit the ground. Tears burned in her eyes as she gasped for breath against the humid air, a dry irritated sound between a cough and a sob escaping her throat as she blindly grasped at the empty air and hard earth around her, as if asking for someone, somewhere to help her in her time of dire need as her hope slowly faded away...

Her silent prayers were then answered in the form of a hard cold surface meeting her flat and bruised palm.

The young mother's eyes reopened quickly in her surprise, glancing up towards the structure to get a better view of what it could be. However, the dark clouds and the darkness of the night as well as her own weariness blinded her enough to where all she could make out was the faintest outline of what she assumed was some sort of building. Where there was buildings, there were people, right? Maybe she could find someone to help her!

New hope filled her heart as she pushed herself up to her feet again, forcing herself not to stagger by using the structure as a brace. The faint sound of another roar reached her ears, much louder now that the rain was almost completely gone, and the adrenaline she long thought she was empty on raced back through her veins. Her free arm outstretched towards the structure whilst her other arm kept her baby firmly against her, she began to desperately search for a door, a window, anyway to get inside.

"Hello!" she called out, balling her hand into a fist as she began banging against the metal wall in front of her. "Is anybody in there? I need help! Please! Hello!" no sooner had she said these words than did her fist collide with the structure in just the right spot, and suddenly the entire wall fell open in front of her. "Ah!" her response was to immediately bring her arm back to curl around her child protectively, expecting the worst to happen... but when nothing or no one came from the new entrance, she slowly relaxed her hold around her boy as she took in the situation. Either the wall had just given way, or this had to be the strangest door she'd ever seen... still, anyplace was better than outside with those monsters searching for her.

In a last ditch move, and with the cries of the beasts once more sounding off behind her, she entered the new doorway, only jumping slightly when the door closed behind her, leaving her in the darkness of the room, but shutting out her enemies from reaching her for the time being... it was all she could hope for.

Silence reigned all around her in the blackness, but soon enough thanks to some flickering but very pale lights, she was able to adjust her vision to the room. Metal structures of great design and size could be seen wherever she looked, things that she thought could only be found in science fiction or space stations now stared back at her face. Apparently, she must've stumbled into a laboratory or something... because what else would have all this advance technology just laying around? Although, it all did look kind of dusty...

Slowly, the mother moved around the area, keeping her wits about her just encase someone was still here or one of the monsters managed to get inside the way she did. Curiosity and fear moved her deeper through the room as she side-stepped over what appeared to be broken beakers and pieces of scrap-metal, only stopping when she found herself suddenly staring face to face with a series of tubes, all closed off and covered with dust. Turning around to stare back at the area she'd just walked through, she found hopelessness once more seizing her heart. This might be a laboratory, but it more or less looked deserted... she would find no help here.

A small sniffle escaped her as she stared back down at her son, trying to find the strength to keep going, but finding nothing other than hopelessness as she thought of what this could mean. If she left this building, the creatures would find her and take her son away... if she stayed, they still might find her, because she was without a doubt certain they wouldn't give up that easily...

But that was just the thing, wasn't it? They were only searching for _her_, because he was so certain that the child would be with _her_...

Still staring at her son, the woman felt a plan begin to form in her mind. This place was deserted, that much she she could see, but that didn't necessarily mean it wasn't useful. As a hiding place for a baby... maybe she was stretching it, but really what choice did she have now? She would hide her son here, and race out to meet her pursuers head on, lead them away from the boy... and if possible, once she lost them, she would come back for her son... or someone hopefully would find him in her stead.

Moving over to one of the consoles that littered the room, the cleanest one she could find in a quick look-over, she lifted her child from her hold, staring down into the soft azure eyes that stared back at her with all the innocence in the world. A small laugh bubbled up from her throat; throughout all the time in the rain and being chased, he had not cried a peep. Maybe it was his premature birth, maybe it was just his personality, or maybe it was because he knew he should be quiet at the time, she didn't know, and she didn't care that much anymore. Right now, all she cared about was spending these last few moments with her tiny son... for they might very well be the last moments she ever would spend with him again.

"Alright, baby." she whispered softly as she laid him on the console, careful to place him where he wouldn't easily fall off should he roll - against a large metal lever or switch of some sort she was sure no longer worked. He grumbled and whined softly as he was placed against the harsh metal, but did nothing else in protest to his mother's actions. "Mommy's gonna go now, but you'll be safe here, okay? Mommy promises she'll be back for you, and she can't, mommy will send you a new family." she paused here, her blue eyes alighting with both elation and sorrow at that thought as she began to peel away the outer blanket from her son, which was now soaked to the brim. "A happy new family that will take good care of you, with a new mommy and a new daddy, and all the siblings you could ever want to play with!" as she continued speaking, the tears she'd held back for so long began to flow from her eyes, but she smiled nonetheless as she fixed the drier blanket around him more firmly, placing it where one could see the name she had chosen for him months earlier sewn into the fabric. "Doesn't that sound nice?"

Her son didn't respond, only continued to stare up at her, the uncertainty and confusion once again entering his azure eyes, as if to ask 'why are you crying mommy?'. Her smile widened slightly as she leaned over the console to kiss her son's cheek softly, pulling her bruised arms around him one last time in a final hug. "Goodbye, my little hero..." was her final whisper as she slowly tore herself away from her son and backed off, turning around to make her way back towards the door. She didn't dare throw another glance back his way, for fear that her resolve would weaken... what if no one came, and her son starved to death? What if he froze out in the night, or the rain got to him? What if...?

As she thought these things, her resolve slowly weakening despite her best efforts, a sudden peace fell over her as she approached the doorway, and her eyes widened in surprise. She felt... complete, as if she'd done something she was suppose to do without even noticing it. Fear was replaced with calm, sorrow with a slow creeping joy as the smile that had faded from her face moments ago quickly returned. Her son would be fine, she wasn't sure how she knew, but she did... and that was all that mattered.

Slowly, she came to the doorway again, and reached out for the nearby security pad that lay next to it. Fingers moving on their own to type in a code she never knew or never would remember, the doorway opened once again to the rainy world, and determination filled her veins as she ripped the water-logged navy blanket she'd taken from her son off her shoulder. Racing outside the building, she leaned down and picked up a forgotten can and a few large stones, wrapping them in the blanket quickly. She had to make them think she still had her son, or else her ruse would never work.

The rain was now nothing more than a mere drizzle as she stood up, overlooking her dummy baby to make sure it would fool the beasts. Satisfied, she continued her run into the darkness, this time heading slightly towards the direction the creatures had been in last. It was now or never.

The bravery of the nameless woman would never be known, and sadly, as she had known deep in her heart all along, she and her son would see one another on the mortal plain again as the triumphant howls of the monsters sounded off in the darkness of the night...

{{{SRMTHFG!}}}

The darkness of the black room was confusing to the new orphaned boy as he lay resting in his blanket, eyes still so new to the world now searching around for anything remotely resembling a living being. It had been close to an hour since his mother had left him in hiding, and loneliness and fear were starting to creep into his tiny heart. The little boy of no more than two weeks of age began to whimper, snuggling further into his blanket. His whimpers grew into short cries of discomfort as his back moved against the hard metal of the console, tiny tears beginning to spring from his eyes as his stomach grumbled softly beneath the wool fabric that encased him.

He was hungry, tired, cold, against a surface he had no need to be against, and above all, he was alone. And what does a baby do when he wants attention?

He does whatever he has to in order to attract it.

The child's cries became louder and as he struggled against his blanket, now trying feebly to get free of the fabric. He couldn't yet crawl, but he could move his arms and legs around somewhat, perhaps just enough to get free. As he struggled, he suddenly rolled towards the switch his mother had placed him up against. With an ease that a switch of this size should not have in the face of such a weak force as the baby's unintentional roll, it fell backward towards the console...

And the world went bright green in the eyes of the child.

A cry of absolute terror escaped him as he felt something rush through him, not understanding in his innocence and youth what was happening. A loud, powerful and unfamiliar sound echoed against his small ears, causing the tears that had not yet been shed to fall down his face. As he cried out into the night for someone, anyone, to come and save him from whatever horror this was, the tubes that his mother had seen earlier, all covered in dust and too dark to see through for her gaze, one by one began to light up.

It seemed as though while his mother might not be with him anymore... she would indeed keep her final promise to him after all...

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><p><strong>AN:** And... that's a wrap! xD This actually felt pretty good to write, I haven't written much of anything in so long - intense writer's block, and a passion for other things as well as real life taking me for a ride. This chapter is actually pretty short compared to the rest I have coming, but I hope you enjoy it. A big shout out to Aunna for giving me the inspiration to make this story. I dearly hope she likes it. Oh, and by the way, this has been spell-checked and grammar-checked multiple times, and has been overlooked for two days since I finished it. I'm pretty sure I have all the kinks out, but if you see one, please point it out to me, thank you. x3 And now, until next time, this is Snowy, signing out. ;3


	2. The Chosen One?

**A/N:** And hello again, my friends! :3 I'm so glad you enjoyed the prologue as you did, for a moment there I thought my story wasn't going to get any reviews at all! xD Someone even favorite-ed the story! :D Well, enough about what's happened, it's time to give a shout-out to all those who enjoyed this story - a little something I do in all my stories for all my faithful reviewers. x3 So, starting off:

_**pikurosonai00**_: Thank you for your praise. I hope you like this next chapter just as much - it's where the monkeys come in! xD

**_AnimeAdict202_**: I hope it is good. :3 I try my best to please my readers.

**_My Golden Wings_**: Thank you. *blushes* I hope you like this chapter too.

Now that the shout-outs are done, time to get this show on the road! Oh, and my the way, just so you know, I do my stories in arcs. x333 This first arc his called "Parenthood"... oh, boy... Those poor monkeys don't know what they're getting themselves into, do they? xDDD

**Disclaimer and Warning:** This story is purely fan-made; I will not and never will own SRMTHFG! or any of it's characters. However, any OC that may come into here... yeah, I don't own either. There not stolen from anybody... they just won't be given a name or last very long for me to consider owning them. xDDD Also, this story is rated T - M for a reason. I am very big on details, and some things may be graphic in this story - gore, death, blood, etc. If this offends you, please turn away now. I can take flames and constructive criticism, so please feel free to do so - flames fuel my fire to irritate you all the more, and constructive criticism helps build my writing skills. Thank you.

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><p><strong>Arc One - Parenthood<br>**

**Chapter One ~ The Chosen One...?  
><strong>

"Destiny grants us our wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us something beyond our wishes." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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><p><strong>{To}<strong> say they were surprised would've been the understatement of the century.

Having woken up in the first place was one thing, having woken up to the sound of high pitched screaming... well, that was another.

"Is that... what I think it is?"

"I believe it is."

"It appears to be a human infant..."

And to discover just what exactly the source of that high pitched screaming was... yeah, that was something of an entirely different nature altogether.

Now crowding around their eldest sibling, the cybernetic monkeys stared on at the bundle in his arms with mixtures of equal disbelief, uncertainty, and confusion. Once the initial shock of their awakening had passed and they'd recovered from the very sudden surprise assault on their audio receptors, it hadn't taken the team long for them to find the source of the terrified screams, which lay resting on the console that controlled their stasis tubes. Having been removed from the main source of his discomfort and placed in the grip of another being, the two week old infant had ceased his terrified screaming, much to the relief of the team, but the tears still continued to roll down his face as soft, pitiful whimpers escaped his throat.

Three of his original five problems were gone: he found he was still being held against a metallic surface, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as the former had been; he was no longer alone with all the other presences around him, and the current being that held him was warm enough to bite back the chill. But he was still tired, more so now after his hard screaming fit, he was still hungry, and he was still very much afraid that the strange light with the weird sound would come back.

Unfortunately for him, the team was still too caught up in their shock to notice his troubles yet...

"Aw, he's so cute!" Otto piped up as he suddenly appeared at Antauri's side, immediately taking to cooing over the raven haired babe. The green monkey was taken aback however when the child whined and flinched at his appearance, fearful blue eyes staring up wide eyed at the strange creature before him. "Aw, don't be scared, little guy. We're not going to hurt ya." he added in a softer tone, hoping to ease the baby into being more comfortable with him. "Hey, Antauri! Can I hold him?" the green monkey then asked, turning his attention to the black monkey. "Please, please, please?" here, Otto suddenly paused as a blank look came over his face. "Um... it is a him, right?"

"Where's his parents?" Nova inquired as she came to stand by Otto's side as the green monkey, seeming to forget his previous confusion at the child's gender, then proceeded to coo over the child once more. The golden warrior's bubblegum pink optics stared down at the tiny wet face that seemed far too small to be alive. "Surely he couldn't have come here on his own... he doesn't even look like he can walk yet."

Sitting on the ground next to his tube behind the rest of the team, Sparks groaned in pain, rubbing his hands over his abused audio receptors. Unlike the rest of the team, the red monkey didn't dare approach the child, for fear that the baby would once more start screaming and he didn't want to be on ground zero when that happened... Sparks swore he could feel parts of what he knew was most likely important circuitry falling out of place in his receptors as he continued to try and relieve himself of the painful ringing sound within them. "What I'd like to know," the ace pilot started as he slowly and carefully removed his left receptor from his head. "Is where the guy who woke us up is. Maybe they can tell us why there's a kid in here." he added as he turned the receptor in his hand so that the open side would face the ground, whimpering nervously as he watched tiny bits of aforementioned broken circuitry fall to the ground. "...and, please, if you guys can, keep him quiet, please?"

Here was where Gibson had decided to speak up, clearing his throat to attract the attention of the rest of the team. "Yes, both Nova and Sparks have valid points: apparently, the Chosen One must've brought the baby with him... or her." he stated simply as he stared towards the object that currently had all their attention. "He's probably the son or relative of the Chosen One..." the blue scientist paused here as a loud rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, easily heard in the quiet of the room. "Although, judging from the hour and what I'm assuming is the current weather conditions outside... it calls into question the intelligence of said person in bringing an infant this young with them..." he mumbled to himself, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke.

At the mention of the Chosen One, Otto had removed his attention from the baby, blinking in surprise as if he just realized the lack of the person who had woken them from stasis in the room. "Oh, yeah! Where is he? I can't wait to meet him!" the green monkey spouted off, his obsidian eyes glittering as he almost literally began jumping up and down in place. "Maybe he's the little guy's daddy! Or maybe they're brothers! Oh, oh! That means we can play with him all we want! Or...! Or maybe they're..."

As the green monkey continued to spout off his ideas about who the baby could be in relation to the Chosen One, Antauri remained quiet, having not spoken a word since awakening; as his olive green eyes continued to stare down at the tiny infant in his arms, he need not ask the questions his siblings were... he already knew where and who the Chosen One was and just exactly what their relation to the infant was.

From the moment he had picked the child up off the console, he found he could both sense and literally_ feel _it, the great force moving from within the tiny figure, so intense and so strong he was almost surprised that such a small form could contain it at all, and adding this to every clue that was staring him in the face, he had found he could form no doubts: The child had been laying next to the switch, a switch that could only be pulled by the Chosen One... and _work_ for that matter, and as far as he could tell the boy was the only other life-form in the Robot next to the monkeys themselves. Sure, for the baby to have been brought to the Robot would've required the help of an adult human as Nova had pointed out, but there was no way possible for a human to have pulled the switch and made such a quick exit that the team wouldn't have noticed.

And if there was, there was no way, if another person had been responsible for their awakening, that this baby would possess _it_.

"This is the Chosen One." For the first time since awakening, Antauri's voice made itself known.

And in response, silence reigned as he felt the eyes of the rest of the team bare into him... for about five seconds.

"_WHAT_?"

{{{SRMTHFG!}}}

_Twenty minutes later..._

"No way! Uh-uh, no, not happening!" the screeches of denial from the resident ace pilot could probably be heard all throughout Shuggazoom City at this point. Currently, said monkey was pacing back and forth in the medical wing, his metallic hands pulling vainly at the short fur on his helmet in his disbelief. "There is no way in the _Netherworld_ itself a _baby_ can be the Chosen One! It's not possible!"

"Sparks! Shush!" Nova snapped venomously in response, her tail curling in anger at the red monkey's raised voice. "Do you want him to start crying again?"

The threat didn't have the desired effect she'd hoped it would, because Sparks was still raging. Deciding to ignore him in favor for something she found much more interesting, the yellow female turned her bubblegum pink gaze down to the bundled towel in her arms, smiling a glowing smile as two innocent blue eyes stared back at her. Not long after Antauri had made his announcement that the boy was indeed the Chosen One, Otto had noticed that the child had begun to shiver violently, and the team had quickly rushed him into the medical wing of the Robot. "Thankfully, it's still in one piece and operational." had been Gibson's sigh of relief the moment he'd been able to activate the lights. The quick once-over he'd given the raven haired child afterward had revealed nothing physically wrong with him, save for the fact he was soaking wet...

The team's scientist/medical officer had then proceeded to remove the water-logged clothing and blanket from the boy, wrapping him in a towel to dry him off before depositing him in the closest set of arms, which had been Nova at the time. "Now, hold him close, Nova. That will help him warm up quicker." Gibson directed her, helping to angle the child in what he had figured was the correct way to hold a human infant. "Support his head." he added, making sure the child was properly supported in the female's arms. "Chosen One or not, who in their right mind brings a baby out in _that_?" he gestured blindly to a wall behind him, where the sound of more thunder could be heard.

"I don't know... must've had a reason though." was Otto's answer as he gathered up the tiny one-piece and wool blanket that had been on the child moments before. "I'll go dry these off... I hope the heater still works." he announced before running off without waiting for a response.

"Will someone _please_ back me up here?" Sparks shouted, waving his arms wildly around over his head. "You guys aren't just going to accept this, are you?"

"Sparks, please lower your voice." Antauri reprimanded the red monkey calmly, having taken to floating above the floor next to the others. "As Nova said, he may start crying again if you scare him."

"Antauri, this isn't funny!" was the red monkey's response. "Unless that kid's some sort of alien life-form with some freaky hidden powers, how's this baby going to fight the Skeleton King? He can't even hold his head upright!"

"It was never said what age the Chosen One would be, Sparks, nor was it said that the Chosen One would have experience in battle."

"I _know_ that, Antauri! But please try to see it from my point! We've no idea just _when_ the old Bone-bag is gonna show his ugly face, and when he does, I seriously doubt this kid's gonna be old enough to hold a weapon. How's he gonna protect himself? How's he gonna survive the first attack thrown our way? Skeleton King will destroy him with one swipe!"

"I sense the boy has the Power Primate within him, Sparks, and in an intensity of the likes I've never felt before." the second-in-command then paused, seeming to take a moment to ponder something before speaking again. "He has the potential to become a great hero, if trained and guided on the right path as he grows."

"And just who is going to raise him? Hmm?" Sparks asked as he crossed his arms in front of him, giving the black monkey a hard look. "If you haven't noticed, I don't exactly see a pair of humans claiming to be his mom and dad in here."

"Come to think of it..." Gibson spoke up, catching the attention of all the remaining monkeys in the room. "Sparks has a point; from what I can gather, there are no other humans in the Robot, at least none that I've seen, and I doubt if there were, they wouldn't take kindly to creatures like us holding their son." he stated as he placed a finger beneath his chin, closing his optic lens in deep thought. "From what Antauri's told us, we can safely assume the boy's Power Primate allowed whoever it was who brought him here to enter... but again, I'll ask: who in their right mind takes an infant out in the rain and then just leaves him in a strange place with no one around to care for him?" he repeated his earlier question from before, turning his gaze to stare questioningly at his fellow cyborgs.

"I believe... I believe we're looking at a case of child abandonment here..." the blue scientist answered himself, his voice turning a tone softer as the word 'abandonment' passed his muzzle. "What else could it be? Why else would we find him here without a guardian, whom I'm most certain, if they'd left him in the Robot by accident, would've already had a cavalry outside trying to get in?"

As the words sunk in, Nova's eyes widened considerably as she stared at Gibson in horror, returning her sight back to the tiny child she held in her hands. "But... but he's... so little... who abandons their baby in the rain?" she asked softly, mostly to herself as she raised one hand to stroke the child's still red face.

"The ways of humans are a mystery, Nova." Antauri answered, slowly floating down to the ground to stand beside the female. "But even if he was abandoned or not, it appears as though we will have to take on his care for now."

"What?" Sparks, who had fallen quiet as Gibson explained his theory, quickly went back into 'rant mode' at this suggestion. "Look, I feel for the kid, I really do, but how are we going to take care of a human baby? We probably don't even know how to take care of a monkey baby!"

"Would you rather go out into the rain and night and search the city for someone to take care of him then, Sparks? Because if you're offering..." Nova smirked venomously at the red monkey, a twinkle of amusement glittering in her pink orbs as she spoke.

"..."

Silence.

"Thought so." the female smirked triumphantly as she removed her attention from the red male and returned it to the still wide eyed baby boy. "Looks like you're staying with us for the night, little guy." as she curled her tail around to tickled under the child's chin, she suddenly froze, bubblegum pink orbs blinking owlishly at the open space before her. "Um... guys? We may have a problem... what's his name?" she asked.

"If he was abandoned, Nova," began Gibson. "I doubt he even has -" the blue monkey was suddenly cut off as Otto landed on him from above, causing Gibson to crash to the floor with a surprised screech as the green monkey sat on him.

"_Otto_! What are you _doing_?" the scientist asked, but was ignored as the mechanic lifted the blue baby blanket he'd been drying on the heater for everyone to see.

"Hey Antauri, can you tell me what this word is?" he asked, taking up the top left corner of the blanket in both hands and placing it to where said black monkey could see what was confused Otto so much. "I found it when I was laying the blanket out over the heater. Someone must've sewn it in, but I don't know what it means." as Antauri leaned over to examine the now visible stitched in letters, curiosity got the better of both Sparks and Nova, who also leaned in as well.

There, in fancy print and neat stitch, the letters C-H-I-R-O could be seen clear as day.

Grinning brightly, Nova looked down at the still face-planted Gibson, her pink eyes sparkling in amusement. "Looks like a name to me."

{{{SRMTHFG!}}}

A soft sigh escaped the team's second-in-command as he walked down the dusty corridors to his room.

After it was discovered the child's name was Chiro - at least from what the word on the blanket spelled, they'd assumed that was his name - the baby had begun to whimper again. It was feared for the moment, especially by Sparks ("_Oh, no! I'm not putting my ears through that again! I am **out** of here!_"), that the child was about to begin crying again. However, Gibson was quick to deduce that the child was hungry, bringing into question the last time the child had been fed.

However, it was quickly found out that feeding the child was to be an odyssey itself.

First, according to Gibson, who by now was officially dubbed the unofficial "baby expert" of the team, they had to get milk. ("_Sparks! Get your tail back in here! We need you to go out and get something!_")

Next, after Sparks had returned from the store ("_I hope Shuggazoom still uses the same currency as they did back then..._"), they had to get a bottle; that was easy enough for Otto.

After that, they had to warm it up, but be careful not to make it too hot. ("_So, I'm suppose to just splash it on my wrist like - YEEEE-OWWWW! That's hot!_")

Then, they had to get Chiro to drink it. That had to be the easiest part of the entire thing...

And lastly, after the feeding, they had to burp him... ("_Aw, c'mon! That's **disgusting**!_")

Needless to say, Sparks was not a happy monkey after all was said and done, and had retreated to the showers to get the baby vomit off of his chest fur. They were pretty sure they heard the red monkey mumble something along the lines of "never again" as he disappeared through the doorway. "What's he all puffed up about?" Nova had asked. "He wasn't even the one burping the baby!" she added as she lifted Chiro off her shoulder and cradled him against her once more.

Once feeding time was over, Gibson had taken the child away from Nova and redressed him in his now dry one-piece, which was the only piece of clothing they had available on their persons for the baby at the time. Before that though, he had taken a piece of cloth and fashioned a makeshift diaper for the child. When Otto had asked what a diaper was, Gibson's only response was that was "very important" for a baby. No one questioned him.

After all that, they'd decided that they should sleep through the rest of the night, starting repairs on the Robot the next morning. That left only one last problem for them to figure out... where was Chiro going to sleep for the night?

"Sorry, guys, but he can't sleep in my room." Nova had stated, shaking her head as to enforce her answer. "My weapons are probably still hanging on the walls, and if they're not, they're on the floor. I don't think that's safe for a baby."

"My room's trashed." was Otto's answer. "When we fought against Mandarin, my room got destroyed. I started the repairs, but then we went into stasis. It'll take at least a week to finish them." the green monkey slouched, looking dejectedly at the floor.

"My room is still full of chemicals." Gibson responded. "And if I'm correct, some of those chemicals might still be active, some even more unstable and volatile than they were before. I don't think I should take the chance... and I don't think Mandarin's old room would be suitable either; although he seems healthy now, we don't know how long he was left alone in the Robot or, judging from his small size, if he was properly cared for before now - he may come down with something if we don't watch him carefully for the next few days." the blue monkey added, receiving nods of agreement from the rest of the team in response.

"The kid ain't getting near any of my things after what he did to my fur, so forget it." was Sparks' response as he stepped back into the room, toweling himself off from the excess water on his robotic body.

And that only left one...

And that was why Antauri now stood at his door, holding a container that was normally used for storing extra supplies. It had been filled with soft blankets that both Otto and Nova had managed to scavenge up from the different in an attempt to quickly make a small bed for the child, with Otto adding in a few extra cloths just encase he vomited again and one had to be replaced or used to clean up. It had worked, because once he was nestled safely within the makeshift bed, the infant Chosen One had fallen asleep the moment he had been put down into it. It was a great relief to the team, along with earning more adoration from Otto and Nova, to see Chiro finally fall asleep. "At least he's not crying." had been Sparks final remark before the pilot left for his own room, the other members of the team following shortly after him, leaving Antauri with the sleeping baby.

Sighing internally, Antauri shifted his hold on the container, using his now free hand to reach over to the code pad next to his door and type in the code. Before they'd entered stasis, each member had locked their respective rooms up tight, just encase something happened while they were asleep that they couldn't control...

Once the code was entered, the doors slid open smoothly, revealing the room that had once been his haven many years ago.

A light layer of dust had settled over everything and time had faded away the colors on the bright decorative screens that adorned the room. The small stream that had once flowed through the area had long since dried up, probably from the Robot being left in the heat of the days that had passed during their sleep. But, unlike the other rooms, it did seem the safest area for the young child like Chiro; there were no weapons here, no broken pieces of wall, no chemicals... and none of Sparks' stuff, although how that counted as a valid reason to the red monkey was beyond Antauri.

Walking into the darkened room, the black monkey switched on his night vision, not daring to turn on the lights less he wake the boy from his slumber, and walked over to where his old recharge pod lay. The dust that covered most of the room had not spared the pod either, but at least it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. Still, he wasn't sure if this dust was safe for the child at the moment... and as Gibson had said earlier, there was no need to take a chance when it came to the child. So, with another internal sigh, the black monkey grabbed one of the small extra cloths Otto had added and got to work.

It didn't take the black monkey long to clear the room of the dust; the layer had been thin after all. Moving back to his recharge pod, Antauri spared a glance down at Chiro, making sure the boy was still asleep before finally moving into his recharge pod to sleep himself. After all the excitement that had happened in the course of a few hours, he felt he would need whatever sleep he got for the coming morning...

...boy, he didn't know how right he was...

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** And there you have it! The second chapter. x3 ...yes, I know it's not as long as I promised it would be, but I'm trying... and oh, geez, I hope I got all their characters right; it's been so long since I've written the monkeys. Although, writing the scenes with Sparks were pretty funny, especially the baby burp scene. xD Poor, poor Sparky. And I made it to where Gibson would know the most about human infants - he is the genius after all... although one can only know so much about certain things, you know? *evil grin* xDDDD

Anyway, I thought I'd let you all know why Chiro's mother called him her "little hero" in the first chapter. I read somewhere on the internet that Chiro's name could come from the Japanese word "ichiro", which means "hero". I figured I'd add that little tidbit in there just for fun. xD Next chapter, we'll see some more time with baby Chiro, and watch as the monkeys bond with the little boy they think has been abandoned. x3 I plan for them to think that for a _long_ time. xD But, that's wrap, and again a big shout-out to Aunna for the inspiration. Read and review please! This is Snowy, signing out! ;3


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